Daily Nuggets of Grace Part 1 Free!Sýnishorn

What About Me?

Today, as we continue Jesus’ story of the compassionate Father in Luke 15, we focus on the older brother who stayed home and did everything his loving father asked of him.

Can you identify with this older brother? Do you relate to God by trying your best to be an obedient servant? Do you tend to be a rule follower and want to please others by serving diligently? Does your feeling of acceptance from God come from how well you have obeyed Him lately?

The older brother did what he thought he needed to do to be a "good boy" and earn his father's love and inheritance. He slaved away day after day.

The heartbreaking truth is that his father loved him completely. The older brother didn't need to work for that love or his inheritance. Actually, his good behavior did not increase the father’s love for him at all.

Furthermore, the older brother was an heir to a wealthy household and wasn't supposed to work in the fields! That was the servant's job, not the son’s. His father declared, “Everything I have is yours!” Indeed, the father had given him the property back in verse 12, but the older brother failed to recognize it.

This older brother could have rested in their father's love and abundance.

Stop and check your motives for doing what you do for the Lord. Are you striving for His love? Are you striving to pay for your wrongs by being extra good? Are you seeking to earn worth in the eyes of God because you feel worthless and can't measure up to His standard?

That’s not how our Heavenly Father operates. He loves you completely. Because of Christ, God fully accepts you today! He has already provided you with good and beautiful gifts in this life to help you live according to His ways.

He doesn’t require you to earn His love by slaving away. He is inviting you into His presence to enjoy His abundance. He is watching and waiting for you to come to him freely as you are.

Reflect and Respond

Think deeply about your relationship with God. In what ways have you been hoping to earn God’s favor by slaving away for Him? How can you stop this and simply enjoy His presence, being with your heavenly Dad?

Pray

Father God, you are kind and merciful! Thank you for rescuing me from the lies I believed about you. Thank you for showing me that my relationship with you is a gift. All I must do is accept it and assume my royal position as your child. Thank you for patiently walking by my side all the way.